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overthinking entertainment
Book: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
Shadow of the Leviathan 2
In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire's reach, a Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—vanishing from a room within a heavily guarded tower, its door and windows locked from the inside. To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial detective, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.
Ana soon discovers that they are investigating not a disappearance but a murder—and one of surpassing cunning, carried out by an opponent who can pass through warded doors like a ghost. Worse still, the killer may be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud, where the Empire harvests fallen titans for the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.
Din has seen his superior solve impossible cases before. But as the death toll grows and their quarry predicts each of Ana's moves with uncanny foresight, he fears that she has at last met an enemy she can't defeat.
posted by GenjiandProust on Dec 01, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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I've been meaning to post this for a bit. The second installment also has a solid audio book, for those who read that way.
This story expands everything -- we learn more about Ana, more about Din, more about the Empire, more about how Leviathans are handled, and more about the politics of the region. There are some great set-pieces (the interrogation in the Shroud is very atmospheric), and I liked that the plot revolves, in part, around the fact that both the Empire and Yarrowdale misunderstand each others' motives and situation, making assumptions about the long-delayed annexation that are, at best, half-true and that serve to obscure the motives and even the means of the various murders.
The imagery is more grotesque than the previous book, but this is fantasy and mystery, not horror. I thought the scenes where Din realizes the implications for his local friends and allies if the Empire either takes over or withdraws pretty well-drawn. Also Din's fairly ill-considered methods of coping with pressure and trauma. Overall, a good sequel, maybe not better than the first book, but a solid part of a trilogy which (I hope) will be better than both.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:52 PM
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I agree, this one wasn't quite as good as the first one but again, the descriptions were good, the plot was clever and one of the supporting characters was so good that I hope Bennett brings her back.
Some things are revealed about Ana that explain how and why she is what she is but those revelations just bring more questions.
Both of the books are not lacking in cruel, evil acts and in some ways, I found that this one was more cruel than the first one. I also found that the modifications performed on people working at the shroud to be horrendous.
I couldn't help but feel that at times I was reading an adaptation of Apocalypse Now.
I'm looking forward to a third installment!
posted by ashbury at 4:21 PM
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I really enjoy these books a lot. I haven't read it in a bit but if I remember right, the only critique I had was the need for some tighter editing. The worldbuilding is so much fun.
posted by PussKillian at 6:58 PM
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Gotta love a fantasy mystery about the hazards of autocracy.
posted by kyrademon at 3:20 AM
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Thanks for posting. I have really enjoyed this series. I actually read this one first, not realizing it was the second in the series, and then went back for the first one. I enjoy the combination of a good detective novel with an interesting fantasy world.
posted by synecdoche at 11:45 AM
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I am hoping the next one deals more with the structure of the Empire. I was really interested that Din is actually shocked by the stone work and its decorations, since the Empire builds mostly in plant matter, but also how consused Din seems to be by the monarchy of Yarrowdale, like he doesn't really get how the government works, which suggests that the Empire is not ruled by a hereditary group or that something weird is going on. I also enjoyed the revelation that the master race that created the Empire developed their powers to the point where they could no longer understand or relate to normal people and so died out, since reproduction became impossible or, possible, uninteresting. So much for any idea of purity of blood in this master race, just disgusting dinners....
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:31 PM
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I found the author's note to be an unexpected treat at the end of the book. It's a couple of pages where he reflects on fantasy's relationship with autocracy and explains some of the thinking behind this book. It's very uncommon for an author to come out behind the curtain at the end and sit backwards in a chair and get personal about what their intentions where about the themes, but I enjoyed it here.
Because all the characters in this story—like all of humanity, apparently—have a little blank spot in their heads that says, "Kings. What a good idea." The idea is powerful, and seductive, and should not be underestimated. To be a civilization of any worth, however, means acknowledging the idea—and then condemning it as laughably, madly stupid.
posted by Rinku at 5:06 PM
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I had the exact opposite reaction to the author's note. :D I lovvvvved the book itself, but I didn't see how replacing the idea of a "King" with the idea of an "Empire" or a "Nation-State" is much of an improvement. I mean I'm happy that the author included the designer-notes to their fiction, but I didn't agree with the notes in this case.
posted by Balna Watya at 7:48 PM
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Oh, I liked this one better than the first one!
posted by maryellenreads at 8:54 AM
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I'd love to read short stories or a novella with Ana & Din but focusing more on the setting, slice of life stories or more low-key cases they solve. Not everything is the end of the world.
I love that we're getting closer to find out what is actually going on with Ana, though I feel like this book's revelations were strongly hinted at in the first book.
I also love that Din has a bit of himbo going on.
posted by hototogisu at 8:43 PM
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